This Is The Only Photograph From India That Was Selected By Nat Geo As One Of The Best Clicks Of 2016

It tells the story of a real, kind India.

Nat Geo sifted through 2,290,225 photographs to find the best photos of the year.

Okay, 2016 has redeemed itself, somewhat.

From deaths of beloved celebrities to Donald Trump's win, and the Indian government's sudden move to scrap higher currency notes, it has been a depressing year, frankly. But now one incredible moment from India has made it to the National Geographic's best photos from 2016.

Nat Geo sifted through 2,290,225 photographs from 91 photographers and put together 52 incredible shots as their 'best photos of 2016'.

The photograph that was shot in India wasn't that of a roaring lion or the usual beautiful landscapes. This one tells a larger story-- that of a happier, kinder India.

Brent Stirton/National Geographic
Sundarbans, India, 11 January 2016: Dr Asim Sil leads a team of eye care specialists on a boat-camp for eye care in a remote part of the Sundarbans.

The photograph is of two eye-care workers using test-lens frames to conduct eye exams. It was shot in the Sundarbans region, where the free check up was being held.

Millions in the developing world go blind because they lack access to treatment. In a story that Nat Geo had done earlier, they narrated the stories of people who are trying to find ways to cure blindness. This particular photograph was of an eye-care team that is led by Asim Sil, who travels across Sundarbans, a remote, river-laced region by boat.

These boats are often used in partnership with other NGOs, offering general healthcare facilities as well as eye health diagnosis to extremely impoverished villages deep within the Sundarbans.

The goal of the team is to educate and offer refractive services, i.e. glasses; to diagnose eye health problems and to offer surgical solutions to patients who need them, including transport to the hospitals. These services are provided free of charge by Vivekananda Mission Asram hospital.

Dr Sil has worked on eye care in the Sundarbans since 1989. A high poverty index and remoteness of location coupled with a lack of access to quality eye care has seen India become the country with the highest number of blind people.

The team's goal is to help reduce India's blind population of more than eight million.

Here are some of the other photos that were selected by National Geographic.

Moscow Rooftoppers

Gerd Ludwig /National Geographic

Kirill Vselensky perches on a cornice in Moscow as Dima Balashov gets the shot. The 24-year-olds, risktakers known as rooftoppers, celebrate their feats on Instagram.

Hiker national park

Lucas Foglia/National Geographic

Within sight of downtown Seoul, South Korea’s capital and a hub of modern stressful life, salesman Sungvin Hong rests after a hike in Bukhansan National Park.

Panda Conservation

Ami Vitale/National Geographic

Ye Ye, a 16-year-old giant panda, lounges in a wild enclosure at a conservation center in China’s Wolong Nature Reserve.

Storm over river

Randy Olson/National Geographic

As an evening storm lights up the sky near Wood River, Nebraska, about 413,000 sandhill cranes arrive to roost in the shallows of the Platte River.

Wolves feeding bison

Lucas Foglia/National Geographic

Matsigenka girl

Charlie Hamilton James/National Geographic

A pet saddleback tamarin hangs on to Yoina Mameria Nontsotega as the Matsigenka girl takes a dip in the Yomibato River, deep inside Peru’s Manú National Park.

National Geographic

On a mountainside in Yosemite National Park, photographer Stephen Wilkes took 1,036 images over 26 hours to create this day-to-night composite.